The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1887-01-07
HAUNTED HoGsE STATION.
How It Happened to Get Its Peculiar
Name-The Trouble that Came OF
the Distribution of Ped

station was somewhat vague, as well q
startling, and SO | spoke to the homes
dairyman and said:
Why do you call this Haunted
House?'
"Cause tn use to be haunted house
here, said the farmer. II s'pose that'i
the reason the place got its name. Tht
house is on t'other side of the hill, but
the haunt amt there no more, Least.
ways, that's what they say"
"How did the house come to be
haunted?'
Murder" repeated the honest dairy.
man. FIFTY year ago a family lived
in that house, an folks said they hadn'i
a very good name. One night ped.
dler stopped there, an he never quit q
stoppin' there, so folks said. By an by
the family moved away. Another man
bought the property, an went to dig
GIN new cellar. He found the ped.
dler's bones-leastways they said they
was the peddler's, an guess they was,
fer nobody else's bones was missin'
round here. Nobody come to claim
the bones, an they was chucked into q
lot, an the boys that was here then
kicked 'em around for fun. There's
them Twin nigh here now that give
the skull many hist, an cracked but
ternuts more'n once with the peddler's
shin-bones-leastways that's what they
say. Not long arter the bones was scat
tered to the four winds the man that
had found 'em in diggin' his new cellar
moved his family into the house. They
hadn't got scarcely settled yet when the
chairs began to tumble about the room
an the dishes broke in the closets, an
the doors wouldn't stay shet an the
.winders ratified an banged like as If
someone was all the time shakin' of
'em. The owner of the house said that
at night someone that he couldn't see
KEEP shakin' sumfin' about his ears
th't sounded like dry bones in a bag
Ev'ry once in while a gust o. wip
would sweep through the house, wit
no doors bein' open an no wi
BLOWN outside, an sweep ey'ry
afore it. Then big black dog wit.
eyes got to appearin' in the house.
When anyone'd try to get nigh him he
wouldn't be there, sometimes fioatin'
away in the air like feather, an some
times fadin' away right where he stood.
Leastways that's what they said. Folks
said the house was haunted, all because
Of the onchristian way the dead mans
bones had been treated, an that tn
want no use o. the family spectin' or
tryin' to have any peace till them bones
was buried decent But there they was,
all kicked an chucked to the DEVILS
four corners, an 1t was like lookin' for
n m mn NiN l. 10 Gv.1
how, the man th't had found the bones
an chucked 'em into the lot went to
work to see if he couldn't git the bones
together ag'in and lay him to rest like
a feller-citizen orter be. He found q
few o. the bones an planted 'em
decent. jist to see whether they would
have any feet on the onrelentin' spooks.
The doors an winders banged, an the
furniture skipped round, an the cold
gusts o. wind KEEP a playin' all the
same. But the bag o. bones didn't
rattle as hard as il had afore, an the
queer black dog. that had looked all
along very fierce, with his eyes very
red. want anywhere nigh as fierce
lookin' after the few bones had been
planted, an bis eyes war changed t. q
mild kind O. blue, an just afore he'd
make his disappearance by fioatin' off
or fading away he'd give his tail little
wag. ez much as tn say that his feelin's
was changin to'ards the family, This
encouraged 'em, am they went TO hunt
in for more O. the skeleton. They Of
fered the boys 10 cents bone for all
they could find, an the boys fined in
the s'arch. an singlar ez it may sound
to stranger, they got all o. them
bones but the skull. Leastways that's
what they said. Some of 'em was broke
leetle, of course, an one o. the neigh
bors had a knife-handle that he had
whitfield ont of piece o the peddler;
but he took the rivets out like an honest
man an handed the bones over to the
family.
These bones was all buried with the
fust ones, an ez sure ez timothy seed
them cold gusts o. wind changed to
gentle warm breeze, an the bag o. dry
bones quit entirely, an the doors an
winders seemed to have hard work .
githn' up their bangin' matches. and
not more'n one dish was broke week,
an the furniture settled down ez prim
an quiet ez could be. But the queerest
change was in the dog. The children
could almost git to him an play with
him. He looked as pleased ez cow
with a new cali, an when he dug out
he went in the air with a playful little
skip. Leastways, that's what they said.
never see the spook myself
'.Well. the family wanted that ped
dler's skull the wust kind, so th't ev'ry-
thing could settle down an be natural;
but 1t couldn't be found. Bout two
weeks AFTER the lost bones was found
one o. the boys w&s down in the med
der. over yonder hind tie hill, pickin'
blackberries long the fence. He was
pickin' away, when all of a suddent o
big black snake riz up bout ten feet
ahead o. him. He reached down an
grabbed stun th't laid by his foot. an
was jist agoin' to chuck it at the snake
when he see th't it was the m;ssin' skull
th't everybody was lookin' fer. He
struck bee line fer the haunted house,
an handed the skull over 10 the family.
TIL was big time here an hereabouts
when the news spread th't the last
missin' link in the peddler was found.
The skull was put in with t'other collec-
ton o. remains of the unfortnit peddler.
an from that day on the haunt left the
house, the dog actin ez il he hated like
Sam Hill to go, an ID rather stay on
the farm an be cow dog thin playin'
spook to skeer people into getherin' up
peddlers' bones. This locality has been
called Haunted House ever since. Jest
for the reason I've been Stain. Least
way that's what they say. anil can't
sw'ar it amt So
The honest dairyman rolled out his
last can. As ! unused on how far, far
more strange fiction is than truth, the
train came along and | got on board
and steamed away from Haunted House.
A Deadwood justice of the peace was
called upon to marry young couple.
and did so with his accustomed sang
froid. Hardly an hour had elapsed be-
fore female friend of the new-made
bride came and explained that the lat
ter had been married to spite a lover
with whom she had quarreled. and
had since made up the tiff. and there
fore desired to be divorced. She could
not be accommodated.
Miraculous Escape.
w. w. Reed. druggist, of Winchester,
Ind. writes: One of my customers,
- = n